First post - advice please

[Ladybelle2015]

Hello, I would be really grateful of some advice please. I have been having health problems for several years with little/no help from my gp. In January I was diagnosed with pernicious anaemia (which I had never heard of when I was diagnosed). I have however become increasingly concerned about my thyroid as I seem to be very symptomatic from what I have been reading up on. I have put on a lot of weight, have very dry itchy skin, a terrible rash on my face constantly, hair thinning and becoming brittle etc, etc.

I have been sent for the same blood tests - over and over again - always being told "normal". I have discovered (after asking for a copy of my results) that the Vitamin B was picked up in 2015 from the blood tests but I was told was normal. I'm not very good at interpreting these things so wondered if anyone could give me some information on the results for my Thyroid. All are within range but I wondered if they are getting "worse" or "better" or if I should just shut up and accept that not being able to function is basically what is going to be my life from now on.

Range are (0.27 - 4.20 TSH) (11.0 - 25.0 T4)

The results by year...

Sept 2014 Serum TSH level 1.54 Serum Free T4 level 17.5

June 2014 Serum TSH Level 1.17 Serum Free T4 level 17.7

December 2016 Serum TSH level 1.75 Serum Free T4 16.6

December 2016 (end of month) Serum TSH level 1.57 Serum Free T4 16.3

There were other blood tests between these dates but thyroid wasn't checked. I understand they are all within range but I just feel so unwell, and its getting worse. My GP has basically said he has no idea what is going on as everything is "normal" which I assume means within range. Any advice or insight would be really useful for me right now as I'm at my wits end and really starting to struggle with keeping on top of my job.

Thanks in advance.

[Clutter]

Welcome to the forum, Ladybelle2015.

Some of the variation in TSH levels is likely to be due to testing at different times of the day. TSH levels fluctuate according to circadian rhythms and are higher early in the morning and low in the afternoon/evening. See the graph in healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Your TSH levels and FT4 levels are euthyroid (normal). It's possible you have high thyroid antibodies which can make you symptomatic but NHS will not help until your TSH or FT4 are abnormal. Many GPs won't test thyroid antibodies until TSH is abnormal but you can order private thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibody test to check from thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin... but even if they are very high NHS won't treat euthyroid Hashimoto's.

There is a pernicious anaemia forum healthunlocked.com/pasoc where you can discuss PA and B12 and folate deficiency.

Thinning hair and hair loss may be due to low iron &/or low zinc. You may wish to ask your GP to test or test privately via the link I supplied above.

[Ladybelle2015 in reply to Clutter]

Great thanks. Already on the PA board. I just wondered if I was going down the same route as with the PA - even though it was picked up before getting to the the stage I'm at now it was left until the levels were well below where they should be. Wasn't sure if that's how the what was likely to happen with thyroid levels.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.